Experts warn of more lay-offs as traditional media’s downslide continues
Many outlets likely to restructure and downsize their businesses
Media professionals predict that traditional Thai media would continue to struggle this year, as investment is being directed towards digital media instead, leading to possible layoffs in old media platforms.
The president of the Association of Digital Television Enterprises of Thailand, Suphap Kleekajai, said that Thai media would face more challenges, especially caused by changing audience behaviour due to digital disruption.
Suphap, a veteran journalist, said traditional media must make serious attempts to cope with the impediments, adding that the sluggish economy could worsen the situation.
“It was a brutal year for the media industry. We have encountered many threats. In the past, newspaper costs increased due to rising oil prices, but we could not hike newspaper prices.
“Now we encounter technology threats. No one expected it. But we have to accept the truth. We have reached a point where businesses cannot survive,” he said.
His remarks followed the firing of several employees in the news industry, particularly TV channels, in 2024, reportedly due to financial reasons.
He said that layoffs were also likely in 2025 in outlets that could not cope with technological intervention.
Suphap’s views were shared by Pawat Ruangdejworachai, chief executive officer of advertising agency Media Intelligence Group, who said that only Out Of Home (OOH) and digital Media could see room for progress this year.
OOH is a type of advertising that reaches people outside of residences.
In 2025, the only media that would grow is OOH and mobile media, while the TV industry is predicted to face a loss of 7% and is forecast to earn only 30% of the advertising revenue for the whole media industry, Pawat said.
TV media would continue to suffer because consumer behaviour has changed as people watch less TV, he said.
“The money in this market is limited. The cake is getting smaller and you would not get the same size [as you did],” he added, shedding light on the increasing number of players in the media industry.
Pawat predicted that many media outlets would restructure their organisations, downsize their businesses, and reduce the number of employees, adding that those with good financial resources could last longer.
Pathamawan Sathaporn, the CEO of marketing at Group M Thailand, said that digital marketing would witness more fluctuation, and it would not be easy for any business to succeed.
According to Group M Thailand’s report, it is predicted that investment trends in the Thai digital advertising industry in 2025 will grow by 8%, totalling more than 140 billion baht, or 65% of the total advertising budget in the country, which is 24.4% higher than the budget for TV and by 8.4% for OOH.
This growth demonstrates opportunities that coincide with strong competition in this new field, she told The Nation's sister newspaper, Bangkokbiz.
